MLive doesn’t tell the whole story!!!

The Partisan Boot Kick.

Although the MLive article didn’t reflect it, when I filed my candidacy to run for Prosecuting Attorney in the Democratic Primary, I fully intended to run as an Independent instead. So why did I first file as a Democrat, and then withdraw my candidacy?

Here’s the reason:

When I first announced my intention to run for Prosecuting Attorney on TV5 News, it was assumed by many that I would run as a Democrat, since I was previously elected County Auditor on the Democratic Ticket. When the incumbent, Chief Prosecutor Kirk Asbury, suddenly decided to retire from office, he threw his support behind his Chief Assistant, Nancy Borushko, who pledged to continue the policies of her boss.

Marcus Garske, of Gower Reddick, filed his candidacy for Prosecutor in the Democratic Primary only to assist Nancy Borushko in being elected. Since it was widely anticipated I would challenge Asbury (or his surrogate, Borushko) in the Democratic Primary, another candidate would help secure the incumbents election, and the perpetuation of control of the power held by the vested interests in the Prosecutor’s Office that’s been handed down for decades. The theory was that by adding a third candidate in the Primary race, it would slice up the anti-incumbency vote, thereby securing the incumbent (or his chief assistant) a better chance of being elected than a one-on-one challenge by me in a primary battle.

However, when the filing deadline occurs on elected County or Township offices, all candidates have up to three days to withdraw their candidacies. I withdrew my Democratic candidacy 15 minutes before the cut-off time. In waiting until the last minute, Mr. Ganske had no time to likewise withdraw, as he surely would have done to give Ms. Borushko an unchallenged shot at being elected as the Democratic Party’s nominee on August 2. This would have enabled her to conserve money and resources for taking me on in November.

Through this maneuver, Garske and Borushko are forced to run one-on-one against each other. It will be interesting to see if Garske, a young lawyer working for Jason Gower, a Republican, actually mounts a campaign to win the Democratic Primary, given that his candidacy merely reflects the effort of his boss to seek favor with those who hold power in our court system. Their whole charade reveals why I am running as an Independent candidate.

Let’s remove the politics from our Courthouse, and start focusing on the betterment of the People, rather than the entrenched political interests of those who have held the power for much too long.